Garbage plant.



No. 719.542. PATBNTED FEB. a, 1903. 0. s. WHEELWRIGHT, GARBAGE PLANT.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21, 1902. N0 MODEL 2 SHEBTS-SHEBT l.

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No. 719,542. PATENTED FEB. 3, 1903. O. S. WHEELWRIGHT.

GARBAGE PLANT.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21, 1902.

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' UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES S. \VHEELWRIGHT, OF BRISTOL, RHODE ISLAND.

GARBAGE PLANT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 719,542, dated February 3, 1903.

Application filed March 21,1902. Serial No. 99,278. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES S. WHEEL- WRIGHT, of Bristol, in the State of Rhode Island, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Garbage Plants, of which the following is a specification.

The main part of the invention consists in the adaptation to a plant for drying out garbage and reclaiming therefrom grease or oil of an invention for separating or draining liquids from solids described in my application for a patent, Serial No. 81,409, filed November 7, 1901.

It consists, further, in details of construction and in certain combinations with the apparatus of said former'application.

A description of the process carried on by the new and improved plant will be given, so far as may be, along with the description of the mechanism or apparatus employed therein.

Use is made of a perforated cylinder, lifting-screw, feeding-blades,and vacuum-chambers, substantially as in my said former apparatus; but whereas in the said former apparatus, which was adapted to the treatment of pulp and similar substances, the liquid was of little value as compared with the solid matter treated,'in the apparatus as adapted for garbage plants the liquid is the more valuable, the solid matters being ofuse for fuel only. Means are therefore provided for reclaiming the grease. Accordingly instead of employing an open vat, as when treating pulp, and employing a scraper to sweep the pulp as it rises to the top of the cylinder into a trough in the open air I employ a closed vat and a scraper within the same to sweep the solid garbage as it comes to the top of the cylinder into a secondcylinder, where it is taken by a carrying-screw to further drying mechanism and finally carried out of the machine, and great care is also taken that all the matters treated shall be kept hot, and means are provided, as described, that no liquid shall escape until the grease has been removed therefrom.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side eleva tion. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of a greater part of the apparatus.

The process begins after the greater part of the objectionable matters-such as tin cans, bottles, crockery, &c.-have'been removed.

'In fact, the garbage is the form of a pulpy mass and is in a suitable tank A, which is a catch-all belonging to digesting apparatus (a part of which is marked A, but forms no part of the present invention) in which the garbage has been previously cooked. From this tank it is pumped by pump B through pipe Pinto the top of an air-tight vat 0, built closely upon the lines of the receiving-vat of my said application Serial No. 81,409. It has, however, a steam-tight cover 0, (supported by T-iron beams A with an opening large enough to inclose a packing-ring M. The receiving-vat O is conical at the lower end, terminating in a vacuum-chamber C substantially as in my said former apparatus, and is provided with a steam-jacket J, furnished with steam by means of steam-pipe K. It has a false bottom L, perforated, as shown. D is a cylinder within said vat O, substantially like the cylinder of my said former apparatus, but terminating in a chamber D, secured to it, as shown, the oflice of which will be described hereinafter. The cylinder D is supported by two spider-frames E E, the former shaped, as shown, to resist the thrust of the double-bladed screw G within said cylinder D, and the latter being arranged to hold said cylinder down against the lifting tendency of said screw and the matters carried by said screw. The said spider-frames are secured to the inner walls of the vat O in any suitable manner. The said double-bladed screw G fits closely the inner-periphery of cylinder D and revolves with shaft G, stepped at F and in turn revolved by a gear F.

H H are spoon or propeller shaped blades revolving with easy clearance in the conical or lower portion of the vat or shell 0 just above the false bottom L by means of a hollow vertical shaft-G to which they are rigidly secured. The said shaft G is hollow to permit the passage through it of the shaft G. It has an end bearing R, also hollow for the same purpose, and supporting-bearings R R the latter being a packing-box in the bottom of vat O. The hollow shaft G is revolved by gear F A packing-box between said shaft G and said hollow shaft G is marked M. The lifting-screw G and the propeller-blades H H revolve in opposite directions.

Too

i I s S is a funnel-shaped vacuum-chamber secured to cylinder D in any convenient way, the said cylinder being furnished with perforations c, &c., in that portion about which the said vacuum-chamber lies. P is a pipe leading from said vacuum-chamber to the outside of the vat O and there provided with a vacuum-valve V. Another pipe P ,'with a valve W, is a discharge-pipe for liquid from said vacuum-chamber, as shown, discharging into a common pipe P whose office will be explained hereinafter. S is a similar funnelshaped vacuum chamber surrounding the cylinder D near the bottom thereof, where the outer conical form of the chamber, together with the inner conical form of the vat O at such portion thereof,gives a general direction to the contents of the vat as such contents are fed to the blades H H, while its bottom S prevents the contents of the blades H H from escaping from the inner portion of the back edges of the blades and directs such contents to the said screw G. The curves of the blades H H are such that they force the heavier part of their contents toward the center of the machine underneath the bottom S of the vacuum-chamber S to be taken up by the screw G and yet permit the lighter or extremelywatery part to pass over their back edges outside of the bottom S and fall upon-the false perforated bottom L below. The cylinder D is provided with perforations c', as shown, Within the vacuum-chamber S, and the latter is provided with a vacuum-pipe P which passes outside of the vat, and is provided with a vacuum-valve o, as shown. It has also a discharge-pipe P furnished with valve W and communicating with pipe P It is necessary that the process be carried on at a temperature that shall keep the grease in a liquid state, as otherwise, for instance, it would tend to fill the perforations in the false bottom L or the perforations c and o in the vacuum-chambers, S and S. To provide sufficient heat, besides the steam-jacket J a coil X, fed by pipe Y from steam-pipe K, surrounds the cylinder D just below the vacuuni-chamber S, and a similar coil X, fed by pipe Y, is placed in the vat below the false bottom L. Other coils may be used. A third coil X for direct steam is shown just above the level of the bottom S of vacuum-chamber S.

Z is a pipe with a valve W th ough which the chamber 0 below the false perforated bottom L, may be cleaned.

The garbage in a wet or pulpy state having been pumped to the top of the vat 0 falls to the bottom, where the heavier portion is fed to the screw G by blades H H, as previously stated; but the Watery portion escaping over the backs of the blades H H passes through the perforations of the false bottom L into vacuum-chamber O, whence it is pumped by pump B and pipe P to reclaiming-tank T, (see Fig. 1,) where the oil rises to the top and is drawn off through pipe P to a suitable tank T below, while the heavier water is drawn through pipe P by means of pump B and forced into a set of tanks T T &c., similar in construction and operation to tank T. The pipe 1? passes over the top of the vat O and is there furnished with pipes to let a portion ot'its contents, still in a heated condition, flow into the vat C, where it thus tends to keep the mass of garbage in a more liquid state. The heavier mass of garbage being lifted by screw G loses water or liquid all the time into vacuum-chamber S through the perforations c, and from the said vacuum-chamber the said water or liquid is drawn by pump B through pipe P and pipe P and forced into the reclaiming tanks T T T, 850. Still lifted by the screw G, the heavier mass of garbage, more solid than before, loses more of its liquid through the perforations c 0 into the vacuum-chamber S, whence the said water or liquid is drawn by pump 13 through pipes P and P and forced into the reclaiming-vats T T &c. Still lifted by the screw G, the mass of garbage now being comparatively dry is forced into chamber D, mentioned above, whence by a revolving sweeper 0 it is swept into a horizontal cylinder N, secured to cylinder D and chamber D, as shown. A delivery-screw N, revolving in the lower part of this horizontal cylinder and having bearings, as shown, carries the nearly-dried mass to a tower O, furnished with inclines 0 which break up the garbage as it falls to a similar cylinder 0 and delivery-screw N by which it is carried out of the machine. The liquid loaded with oil or grease entering the reclaiming-tank T the oil or grease in a liquid state flows to the top of the tank and thence is drawn through pipes P and P into the general receiving-tank T, while the heavier liquid descending is drawn into the next tank T and so on. The last tank is furnished with a refuse-pipe P and a gate G for determining the level at which the oil shall be drawn from the several reclaiming tanks through pipe P the opening in the gate being set at the level or slightly above the level of the oil-discharge pipes P 850. The tank T is provided with a series of draw-off pipes P Shaft G near the top of the receiving-vat C is provided with a leveling-barB furnished with teeth B as shown, and rigidly secured to said shaft by a hub B.

I I I are pipes leading from the vat O, the tower O, and discharge-pipe O to a tall chimney for carrying 01f odors, gases, due.

The pump B it will be observed, is a forcepump or pumping engine drawing liquid through the system of pipes from tank T and the vacuum-chambers S and S and forcing it into the succession of reclaiming-tanks T T 850. In some cases the pump B becomes unnecessary'. 6., it may not be necessary in all cases to allow liquid from the reclaimingtank T to flow down through the contents of the vat O. In such cases a valve in pipe P is closed, when the liquid from vacuum-chaming been opened.

I claim 1. In a rendering apparatus, the combina' tion with the steam-tight vat provided with a false bottom L and a vacuum-chamber O beneath, perforated cylinder D within said vat furnished with lifting-screw G, the periphery of whose blades closely fits the interior of said cylinder, feeding-blades H, H, in the bottom of said tank beneath said liftingscrew, the said feeding-blades being adapted to revolve in one direction and the said screw in the opposite direction, and vacuum-chamber S, in combination with chamber D at the top of said cylinder and open thereto, revolvvolving the said blades in one direction and the said screw in the opposite direction, the chamber D at the top of said cylinder, the scraper O rigidly attached to the shaft of said screw, and cylinder N for receiving solid matters in combination with the vacuum-chamber S and pump E the said cylinder D being perforated where it lies within said vacuumchamber, and the said pump being adapted to discharge liquid flowing through the perforations, substantially as described.

3. In a rendering apparatus, the steamtight vat O, the cylinder D within said vat, the feeding-blades H, H, and the screw G revolving the said blades in one direction and the said screw in the opposite direction, the chamber D at the top of said cylinder, the scraper O rigidly attached to the shaft of said screw, and the cylinder N for receiving solid matters, in combination with the vacuumchamber 0 perforated floor L and vacuumchambers S and S, the said cylinder D being perforated within the said chambers S and S, as described, and the pump B for drawing liquid from the several said vacuumchambers, substantially as described.

CHARLES S. WHEELWRIGHT. Witnesses:

THOMAS F. I. MODONNELL, F. R. WHEELWRIGHT. 

